Assignments got your hair on fire?

Douse the flames with our full-range writing service!

Experienced academic writing professionals are at your fingertips.
Use this handy tool to get a price estimate for your project.

Importance of Light in Photosynthesis

Plant roots are very important for water and mineral ion absorption as well as the anchoring of the plant into the ground. Germination causes the embryonic root to break through the seed coat and start growing down into the soil. A whole root system then develops by the branching of this embryonic root into new roots, increasing the surface area for absorption. The surface area is further increased by the branching of root hairs from these roots.

Once water has been taken up by the roots it is pulled upwards into the leaves where it then evaporates. This flow of water from the roots to the leaves is called the transpiration stream. This transpiration stream occurs in xylem vessels and the movement of water is passive. Mature xylem vessels are long dead structures made up of cells arranged from end to end. The cell walls between the adjacent xylem cells are broken down and the cytoplasmic content dies to form a continuous tube. The cells also lack a plasma membrane which allows water to enter the vessels freely. In addition, they also contain pores in the outer cell walls which allows the movement of water out of the vessels and into the surrounding cells of leaves. The outer cell walls contain thickenings which resemble spirals or rings impregnated with lignin which makes the vessels strong and able to withstand low pressures. Low pressure (suction) is created in the xylem vessels when water is pulled out of the transpiration stream via evaporation of water vapour from the spongy mesophyll cell walls in the leaves. Heat from the environment is necessary as it provides the energy required for the evaporation of water. The low pressure causes more water from the roots to be pulled upwards through the xylem tubes, this is called transpiration pull. Transpiration pull works due to the cohesion of water molecules. Hydrogen bonds form between the water molecules allowing the formation of columns of water which are not easily broken by the low pressure. In addition, adhesion also plays a role in maintaining transpiration pull. The water molecules adhere to the walls of the xylem vessels preventing the columns of water from breaking. So to conclude, the structure of xylem vessels, transpiration pull, cohesion, adhesion and evaporation are all important in the carrying of water by the transpiration stream.

Observe evidence of photosynthesis in a water plant

Warm air melts the ice shelf surface, forming ponds of meltwater. As the water trickles down through small cracks in the ice shelf, it deepens, erodes, and expands those cracks. In a separate process, warmer water melts the ice shelf from below, thinning it and making it more vulnerable to cracking. Scientists have observed both processes in all the ice shelves that have rapidly retreated in recent years.

However, warm temperatures alone do not fully explain rapid ice shelf collapse. Recent research suggests that waning sea ice surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula and the Arctic ice shelves in Canada might also have contributed to the recent collapses. Sea ice provides a layer of protection between an ice shelf and the surrounding ocean, muting the power of large waves and storms. As sea ice decreases, more waves buffet the ice shelves. The largest waves can buckle and bend an ice shelf, increasing instability and possibly contributing to a collapse.

In respiration energy is released fromsugars when electrons associated with hydrogen are transported to oxygen (theelectron acceptor), and water is formed as a byproduct. The mitochondriause the energy released in this oxidation in order to synthesize ATP. Inphotosynthesis, the electron flow is reversed, the water is split (not formed),and the electrons are transferred from the water to CO2 and in theprocess the energy is used to reduce the CO2 into sugar. Inrespiration the energy yield is 686 kcal per mole of glucose oxidized to CO2,while photosynthesis requires 686 kcal of energy to boost the electrons from thewater to their high-energy perches in the reduced sugar -- light provides thisenergy.

IB Biology Notes - 9.2 Transport in angiospermophytes

The acidity was found to arise from the opening of their stomata at night to take in CO2 and fix it into malic acid for storage in the large vacuoles of their photosynthetic cells. It could drop the pH to 4 with a malic acid concentration up to 0.3M . Then in the heat of the day, the stomata close tightly to conserve water and the malic acid is decarboxylated to release the CO2 for fixing by the Calvin cycle. PEP is used for the initial short-term carbon fixation as in the , but the entire chain of reactions occurs in the same cell rather than handing off to a separate cell as with the C4 plants. In the CAM strategy, the processes are separated temporally, the initial CO2 fixation at night, and the malic acid to Calvin cycle part taking place during the day.

(1983) showed that the aquatic micro-flora can adapt to PCP and can become the most important factor for clearing contaminated surface water of PCP, particularly in deeper waters where the photolytic contribution is minimized.

IB Biology notes on 9.2 Transport in angiospermophytes

IB Biology Notes - 3.4 DNA replication

The drawback to C4 photosynthesis is the extra energy in the form of that is used to pump the 4-carbon acids to the bundle sheath cell and the pumping of the 3-carbon compound back to the mesophyll cell for conversion to PEP. This loss to the system is why C3 plants will outperform C4 plants if there is a lot of water and sun. The C4 plants make some of that energy back in the fact that the rubisco is optimally used and the plant has to spend less energy synthesizing rubisco.

IB Biology notes on 3.4 DNA replication ..

Since the ambient concentrations of PCP in the water of natural aquatic environments are usually less than 1 µg/litre (section 5.1.2), the studies of Niimi & McFadden (1982) are of particular importance.